Learning Opportunities

Be Strong Parent Cafés

In 2007, the Parent Café process was created by Strengthening Families Illinois to educate family members/family leaders on the five research-based Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors that keep children safe and families strong. Be Strong Families further refined and developed the process. The purpose of Be Strong Parent Cafés is to provide an environment in which parents and family members can build protective factors through individual deep self-reflection and peer-to-peer learning. The model is based on the principles of adult learning and family support and builds family member leadership.

Through the efforts of the Pennsylvania Strengthening Families Leadership Team with funding support from the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and facilitated by Center for Schools and Communities (CSC), Pennsylvania has offered learning opportunities since 2016 to encourage more communities to use this forum for engage family members. CSC serves as a Certified Training Partner of Be Strong Families and offers a variety of courses related to the model.
Through multi-day institutes local teams consisting of organizational staff and family members attend institutes to learn more about the Parent Café process and are certified to implement cafés in their communities.

For more information about creating a community team, please contact Pennsylvania Strengthening Families.

Team Certification Courses

Be Strong Parent Café Training Institute (PCTI)

This two-day, in-person course certifies local teams to plan and deliver place-based Be Strong Parent Cafés. Participants review the anatomy of the café, explore the protective factors, practice skills for hosting cafes, and learn how to create a safe and welcoming ambiance that encourages guests to share. This learning opportunity is hands-on and interactive with participants planning and delivering a full café before certification. Teams are asked to commit to delivering cafes following their training, participate in evaluation activities, and engage with an instructor for support.

Be Strong Parent Café Training Institute – Online (PCTI-O)

The Be Strong Parent Café Institute Online (PCTI-O) is a three-day experiential and highly interactive online institute that prepares Participants discuss and reflect on the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors, review the anatomy of the café, explore the technology aspects of hosting a café online, and learn how to create a safe, welcoming virtual space for participants. Teams are asked to commit to delivering cafes following their training, participate in evaluation activities, and engage with an instructor for support.

Courses for Certified Teams to Enhance Implementation

Hosting Meaningful Café Conversations

This course (delivered in-person and online) dives deep into the role of the table/room host. This course helps participants sharpen hosting skills and provides the opportunity to practice how to keep the conversation flowing and create a safe space where all have a chance to share.

Building Protective Factors through Parent Cafés

This course (delivered in-person and online) focuses on expanding participants’ knowledge of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors framework and how family members can identify and build on their strengths to create nurturing and safe environments for their families. During the course participants reflect on the protective factors in their own lives and how to share their stories.

Taking Your Cafés Online in Pennsylvania

This course is intended for teams that have been certified to deliver place-based cafes that would like to offer online cafes. Participants review the anatomy of cafes, explore the nuances of delivering cafes online, and review the technological aspects of virtual cafés.

Place-based Parent Café Crossover Course

This course is intended for teams that have been certified to deliver online cafes that would like to offer place-based cafes. Participants review the anatomy of cafes, explore the differences of delivering cafes in-person, and explore how to create ambiance and welcoming space.

Online Journey to Vitality Café Course

The Vitality Café offers opportunities for participants to reflect on the ways a given Vitality Domain plays a role in their lives, and to talk with peers prompted by conversation questions similar to the Parent Café conversations focused on the Protective Factors. This course defines the Domains of Vitality (Physical, Mental and Emotional, Spiritual, Financial, Environmental and Social), explores their relationship with the Protective Factors and teaches teams how to conduct a Journey to Vitality Café. Teams must be certified to deliver online cafes to attend and this course provides certification to deliver Vitality Cafés in your community in an online format only.

Strengthening Families™ Courses

We are committed to providing high-quality professional development to those working with families. Certified instructors can deliver a variety of workshops and courses to meet your needs. For more information about the courses below or to schedule an opportunity in your community, contact Pennsylvania Strengthening Families.

Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life in Your Work

The seven-course series, Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life in Your Work — A Resource for Action, provides an in-depth analysis of the Strengthening Families™ approach developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy, an in-depth exploration of each of the five protective factors and what can be done to create an environment where families can build these factors in their own lives. This course was developed by the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance and is delivered by certified instructors in Pennsylvania. This series can be delivered over time or in an institute format.

Understanding the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework

The Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors, identified by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), are strengths and resources that families can draw on when life gets difficult. When these five factors are present and robust, they keep families strong and children safe. In this interactive three-hour course, participants define each factor, identify everyday actions that promote them in families, and explore resources for family support professionals to incorporate this approach into their work.

Taking Care of Yourself: Self-Care through a Protective Factors Lens

Research shows that families benefit from having protective factors like resilience, social connections, and concrete supports. When these protective factors are robust in families, children and their caregivers thrive. What if these same protective factors could be built among family support professionals? How might our work (and our personal lives) be impacted if we focused on building our protective factors? In this course participants use the lens of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors framework to identify strategies to build these characteristics in themselves and foster them in workplaces.

Customized Learning Opportunities

Unique offerings can be developed to meet learning needs. Workshops and presentations can be crafted for specific audiences to provide basic information about the Strengthening Families™ approach, everyday actions to support the growth of protective factors and the importance of families being engaged as leaders in the work to keep their families strong.